Gay Americans in Argentina: Dealing With the Coronavirus in Argentina

I've had a few friends back home ask me how Argentina is dealing with the Coronavirus. So, I decided to address what I know and what my husband and I have personally observed over the last few days.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez is stopping flights to and from countries that have a high number of cases of the Coronavirus. He's also reportedly ordering schools to be closed until March 31st.

I've also heard that the country is closing its borders to non-Argentine residents for 14 days.

So far, the government hasn't shut down major social gatherings like they have in the States. But the Argentina Comic-Con issued a statement that they will closely monitor the situation to determine whether they should or shouldn't cancel the May 2020 event.

As far as what's happening in Cordoba City, I can tell you that we've been to local pharmacies, and supermarkets like Hiper Libertad and Walmart, and none of them have rubbing alcohol.

Hiper Libertad in Cordoba, Argentina during the pandemic

Hiper Libertad had a section dedicated to disinfectant sprays and wipes, masks, latex gloves and antibacterial soaps

However, Walmart had a sign that said that they are limiting the sale of rubbing alcohol to one per customer. So, some people have been sending their relatives to buy one bottle each to stock up. But what about toilet paper?

You've probably seen a bunch of memes of how people in Australia and the United States have been clearing out the toilet paper from shelves. The good news is that this hasn't happened in Argentina yet, or at least not in Cordoba City. It might have something to do with the fact that everyone here is in love with their bidets (and in case, you didn't know, bidets are used by men and women here, not just by women like in the States). So maybe that's why no one's stocking up on tons of toilet paper yet.

Walmart in Cordoba, Argentina during the pandemic

Walmart: Plenty of toilet paper

Walmart: More toilet paper

Other items like rubbing alcohol are flying off some store shelves.

Walmart: Rubbing alcohol limited to 1 per family

My husband took a cab to Walmart recently and noticed that the cab driver was wiping everything down with disinfectant. Although the number of Coronavirus cases in Cordoba have been relatively small compared to Buenos Aires, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

Walmart: Milk has also been limited to 12 1 liter carton of milk per family

My biggest concern is that the slow progress of the virus down here is only temporary. The locals don't make it a habit to cover their mouths when they yawn, sneeze, or cough. In general, Argentines are very blasé about preventing the spread of germs.

The other day I was at McDonald's and they had these cups with a jug of water that anyone could drink from free of charge. Then, a bunch of young soccer players walked in, sipped from the cups and put the cups right back where they were instead of tossing them in the trash. Aside from the fact that this is disgusting, it's also dangerous in a world plagued by a pandemic. But when I reported it to the manager, he just shrugged and told me he didn't see the problem. This is a typical response down here.

Another thing I feel is a problem is the fact that there's some disinformation from authorities regarding how to limit exposure from the virus. The Argentine president recommended that people drink lots of hot water to kill the virus. But health officials have confirmed that this does nothing to stop the virus or prevent it.

Some of the locals we know are downplaying the severity of the Coronavirus, which has been a pretty typical response worldwide until it's too late. We've stocked up on food and limited our social outings until we get the all clear from reliable health officials.

UPDATE: 3-17-2020
So today I went looking for rubbing alcohol but didn't have much luck. What I found interesting was that one of the pharmacies was only allowing four people to come in at a time and even then, everyone had to stand at least a meter away from everybody else. Not sure how many people are going to adhere to this since Argentines have a huge issue respecting personal bubbles.